Victoria father welcomes healthy baby Iver, says goodbye to wife on life support

Matthew Robinson, Vancouver Sun02.11.2014

On Monday, Dylan Benson announced the birth of his son Iver Cohen Benson, and said goodbye to his wife Robyn, a 32-year-old who at five months pregnant, was declared brain-dead.Facebook
/ Vancouver Sun

Robyn Benson has been brain dead since Dec. 29, the day after she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage at home. She is being kept alive until she gives birth to baby Iver.'
/ Dylan Benson

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A healthy baby boy entered the world Saturday evening, as the heartbreaking human drama of one Victoria family came to a both an end and a beginning.

On Monday evening, Dylan Benson announced on Facebook the birth of his son Iver Cohen Benson, and said goodbye to his wife Robyn, a 32-year-old who was declared brain dead five months into her pregnancy.

"It is with a heavy heart but also with extreme proudness that I am posting this update," Benson wrote on Facebook.

"Iver is healthy and is the cutest and most precious person I have ever met. As to be expected, it will still be a bumpy ride for he and I as he continues to grow under the care of the wonderful staff at the hospital."

But one day after Iver's birth, Robyn died.

"On Sunday, we had to unfortunately say goodbye to the strongest and most wonderful woman I have ever met. I miss Robyn more than words can explain. I could not be more impressed with her strength, and I am so lucky to have known her. She will live on forever within Iver, and in my heart," said Benson.

Iver was born 7:12 p.m., weighing two pounds, 13 ounces, and boasting a little bit of apricot-coloured hair.

"I've never been more proud and getting to hold him yesterday was something I will never forget and something I look forward to doing every day," he told the Victoria Times Colonist on Monday.

"He's showing hints of Robyn's red hair, not surprising. But I think he has my nose," said Benson.

Benson's joy at the birth of his son was soon countered by the knowledge that the time was near when he'd have to say his final farewell to the woman he first met 16 years earlier, when she was still a teen and the two were embarking on their Grade 12 years in separate high schools.

"I don't think I have the right words to describe it," said the new father in a Monday-night interview. "It's the best and definitely the worst thing to ever happen to me in my life at the same time."

"My first thought was just how amazing he (Iver) looked and ... I guess it's just a massive, massive sense of relief that he was here and he had made it, and then of course the excitement of wanting to see him, and also the same amount of fear knowing that I would have to say goodbye."

Benson said he got to see his son about an hour after the birth.

He said he stayed in the hospital that night, and early Sunday morning visited Robyn for the last time. Then, later that same afternoon, Benson said, he got to hold Iver for the first time.

The up-and-down, high-and-low emotions were definitely not something Benson expected in his life, but then something went wrong at the end of December.

Benson wrote previously on his blog that Robyn complained of a headache on Dec. 28. She asked him to go to the pharmacy and get some pain killers, he wrote, but when he returned home, Robyn was unconscious on the bathroom floor.

He called 911, but paramedics could not revive her.

Doctors discovered a blood leak in her brain that caused irreversible damage. Nothing could be done to save her life, but doctors hoped her body could hold out long enough to allow her baby boy to grow until such time that they could perform a caesarean section.

Medical journals find that there have been only 30 similar cases in the world.

The family's tragic story has been told by news outlets around the world, and within minutes of Benson's message being posted, friends and strangers alike shared their thoughts on his Facebook page.

"Dylan, Congrats to you :) You will be an amazing father. We wish you all the strength that you will need to make it through this difficult time. Once things settle down we would love to meet him," wrote Shawna Dolynny.

Jamie Elvins wrote, "I just wanted to send warm and loving wishes your way. Your family's story touches my heart and I wish peace and love for you and little Iver."

An online fundraising campaign was created to help Dylan and his son, with a fundraising goal of $36,000. Shortly after Benson posted the photo of Iver on Monday evening, the site had already raised $147,000.

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Victoria father welcomes healthy baby Iver, says goodbye to wife on life support

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